


counterbalance

by qingting



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Avatar: The Last Airbender References, Drinking, Earthbender! Kai, Firebender! Kuroo, Friends to Lovers, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, KuroYaku Weekend 2017, M/M, Pro-Bending, Waterbender! Yaku, a little bit, mention of kickass managers, minor appearances by the rest of nekoma and bokuakakono, tAKE MY JETLAG WRITING
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11808597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qingting/pseuds/qingting
Summary: Four seconds left. Together, Yaku and Kuroo summon their respective elements, spiraling their attacks together into a fearsome column of water and fire.Three. The attack hits the first opponent, who slams into the next.Two. The two go flying towards the opposite edge.One. They fall off the arena floor, hitting the water below.Zero. The buzzer sounds.Kuroo and Yaku will always have each other's backs.((Kuroyaku Weekend 2017: Prompt - Opposites (fire and water) Pro bending AU!))





	counterbalance

**Author's Note:**

> i have a horrible habit of writing when im dead tired and also i just came back from a rly long trip so the jet lag is real pls excuse the jet lag quality im tired and also this is late
> 
> huge thank you to [Blue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphiraBlue) for looking over this for me so quickly and making sure nothing sounded like i wrote it in a fever haze

“Yaku, cover!”

Yaku hisses a curse under his breath as he neatly jumps over a disc headed straight for his stomach and pulls up a wave of water to collide with the opponent firebender’s attack. Behind him, Kuroo swerves wildly as he dodges a barrage of flying earth discs. “Pay more attention!” he yells at Kuroo.

Kuroo evades another disc and sends a burst of fire toward the other team’s earthbender. “I’m a little occupied here!” he hollers back.

Yaku mutters another curse as Kai gets knocked back into zone two. Their opponents advance into the next zone. He spares a quick glance at the clock before spinning and hurling a stream of water that shatters an earth disc.

 _Not good_. Yaku takes cover behind the cloud of dust from the broken discs Kai flung at the other team. Half a minute into the match, and they’re already in zone two. He fires shot after shot at the opposing waterbender, and grins wickedly as he falls off the edge of the arena into the water pit below.

But the other team is still advancing. The opposing firebender ducks smoothly under Kai’s attacks and summons a burst of fire from her palms to hit Kai. Kuroo is locked in a showdown with the other team’s earthbender.

Kuroo is truly a force to be reckoned with on the field, Yaku thinks as he catches Kai before he tumbles back into zone three. He sends wave after wave of fire from the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet. Spinning, jumping, kicking. A whirlwind of flames.

“Yaku, watch out!” Kuroo shouts as the other team’s earthbender changes her strategy and goes after him. A disc catches him in the side, and he hits the ground and rolls into zone three.

 _Really not good_. Yaku almost bites his tongue dodging another earthbender attack. He dives into a roll, drenching the opponent earthbender with a wave of his hand as he comes back up. Kai sends a flurry of discs into her stomach. Yaku has no time to wince in sympathy as each disc hits its mark, sending her back a zone.

He dodges a stream of fire and prepares to counterattack--

Kuroo slams into Yaku with his entire 187 cm body, nearly making them fly off the edge of the arena. Kai skids into zone three, trying to defend from their opponents’ fervent attacks.

Yaku bites down the scolding he wants to give Kuroo and instead darts his eyes over to the clock. Half a minute left and they’re all in zone three. Their opponents are getting ready to launch a final attack. This is really, really not good.

“Kuroo, Yaku!” Kai shoots three discs, one after the other, at the opposing firebender. In her haste to avoid getting hit, she breaks the discs with her fire. The dust from the broken earth sets up a perfect cover.

Yaku meets eyes with Kuroo. They know what to do.

25 seconds left. Yaku sprays burst after burst of water towards the left side of the arena.

22 seconds left. Kuroo follows suit, aiming towards the right side.

17 seconds left. Instead of blocking, their opponents choose to dodge instead. Kuroo grins impishly.

Twelve seconds. They’ve herded their opponents into a line in the middle.

Nine seconds. Yaku settles into a wide stance.

Seven seconds. Kuroo claps his palms together.

Four seconds. Together, they summon their respective elements, spiraling their attacks together into a fearsome column of water and fire.

Three. The attack hits the first opponent, who slams into the next.

Two. The two go flying towards the opposite edge.

One. They fall off the arena floor, hitting the water below.

Zero. The buzzer sounds.

Screams fill the stadium and ring through Yaku’s ears. The announcer bellows, “It’s a knockout! In the third round of the match between the Capital City Catgators and the Harbor Town Hog Monkeys, the Catgators snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Amazing teamwork as always from the Catgators!”

Kai lets his shoulders slump, releasing a huge sigh of relief. Yaku takes off his helmet and punches Kuroo in the arm.

Kuroo winces. “Ow, what was that for?”

“You know what that was for,” Yaku almost growls, glaring at him. “Be more careful next time, you idiot! We almost lost the match!”

“But we didn’t,” Kuroo sing-songs, grabbing Yaku into a headlock and digging his fist into Yaku’s scalp. “Lighten up a little, Yakkun. It’s no good to spend time dwelling on what could have been.”

Yaku jabs an elbow into Kuroo’s stomach, not holding back his smirk as Kuroo wheezes and lets go. “Just watch out,” he warns. “You know who we’re facing next.”

As if on cue, the announcer yells, “The Catgators advance to the semifinals, facing the Owlsharks next week! You won’t wanna miss this match, folks!”

Kai rolls his eyes fondly. “I don’t think he needs a reminder, Yaku,” he says.

That baleful smile of Kuroo’s makes special appearances in Yaku’s nightmares sometimes. “We’re not losing to Bokuto,” he swears.

 _Not if we keep getting into scrapes like that,_ Yaku wants to argue, but something about the look on Kuroo’s face makes his heart jump into his throat. In a good way.

“We’re not,” Kai and Yaku say in unison. Kuroo beams.

 

* * *

 

“Good job,” Kenma tells them absently after they come out from the changing rooms. He’s fiddling with the insides of the new handheld video game system he’s designing, sending sparks of electricity into it every now and then.

“Thanks, Kenma,” Kuroo says brightly, ruffling Kenma’s hair and grinning when his hand gets batted away. “Let’s go eat a victory lunch.”

“There’s a new donburi place by our apartment,” Kai suggests. “Or we could go to the ramen stand like normal.”

“Ramen sounds good,” Kuroo says.

“Let’s try the new place,” Yaku says, just to oppose him.

He returns Kuroo’s dead look with a satisfied smile of his own. Kenma sighs. “Kai, you decide.”

Kai smiles like he doesn't always mediate between the two of them, and says, “I think I want to try the new donburi place.” Kuroo gasps like he's been personally offended.

“My best friends are all taking a stand against me, Kenma!” He clutches a hand to his heart. “I feel so betrayed.”

Kenma doesn’t even look up from his game. “Get over it.”

Yaku dissolves into laughter.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, so,” Kuroo says one day as they’re training in the gym. Yaku’s been focusing on trying to manipulate more water at one time and at faster speeds, but it’s been difficult work, to say the least. “What do you think of the Crow Panthers?”

Yaku balances a sphere of water bigger than all three of their heads combined above his hand. “That dark horse in the other bracket?”

“Yeah, them,” Kuroo says, snapping his fingers. “I heard they’ve been eating up the competition.”

“I’ve been to some of their matches. They’re,” Kai shudders, “fearsome.”

Yaku sends Kuroo a glance. “If we beat Bokuto and his team, we’re gonna have to face them for the championship.”

“When,” Kuroo replies, sporting a smirk that seems perfectly at home on his face, and yet, Yaku barely manages to restrain himself from kissing it right off. Or slapping. He meant to think slapping. “You mean ‘when’, Yakkun.”

“Don’t be so cocky,” Yaku scoffs as his brain struggles with itself. “You know they’re tough.”

“Still,” Kai adds, “I’d like to pay them back for last time’s defeat.”

“For sure,” Kuroo says, voice dropping to a low pitch that makes goosebumps crawl over Yaku’s arms and his heart stutter in his chest.

Yaku drops the orb of water he forgot he’d been carrying, effectively drenching them all.

“Oh, that’s cold,” Kuroo hisses, shrinking into himself in an almost cat-like way.

Yaku is too busy trying to mentally slap himself to laugh at him.

 

* * *

 

They seem to attract trouble more often than any of them would like. Yaku blames Kuroo’s stupid hair.

“Kai.” Kai is too engrossed in looking through the different CDs on the rack to hear Yaku’s whisper. Yaku nudges him with his shoulder. “Kai!”

Kai picks up two different CDs, reading the tracklists on the back. “Yeah?”

Yaku grabs one of the music books and pretends to be reading it. “Look up, but do it slowly. Scan the room casually like you’re just looking for something until you see the three guys that just came in.”

Kai’s eyes lazily travel the room, locking onto the three men near the door and darting away just as quickly. He sucks in a breath. “Is that-”

“A Triad, yeah,” Yaku murmurs.

“What are they doing here?”

Yaku watches the Triad make their way to the cashier, bulldozing through the aisles. “Collection fee, I’ll bet. Oi, Bedhead,” he calls, suddenly raising his voice. Kuroo looks up at the same time the mobsters do.

“Yaku, what-”

Yaku mentally thanks his lucky stars that he chose not to wear Water Tribe traditional clothing today, opting for a neutral-looking white t-shirt and black jeans. “We have to go,” he says. “We were gonna meet your friend for dinner, right?”

“My-” Kuroo spots the Triad less than a second later- “Oh yeah, I didn’t notice the time. Hopefully he won’t be mad at us for being late,” he says airily, walking over.

The gang members write them off as of little concern, continuing their march to the front. Kuroo sidles up to the two of them, plucking a cassette tape off the rack and scanning the description. Yaku nudges him. “Did you see them?”

“Yeah,” Kuroo whispers. “Collection fee, I think.”

Kai hums softly. “What should we do?”

“I say we book it,” Yaku decides.

Kai and Kuroo both stare at him like he’s lost an arm. “Yaku, what-”

“Use your heads,” he hisses. “We have a match coming up in less than a week.”

Kuroo cuts in. “That’s not as important-”

“And,” Yaku talks over him, “if we help now, this store will be at greater risk of being attacked next time they come here to collect money.”

Kai looks horribly torn. “That’s a good point, but we can’t just let the store get robbed.”

“They chose to set up shop in downtown Republic City, they should have been prepared for stuff like this to happen,” Yaku argues.

Kuroo raises an eyebrow at him. “Yaku, that’s a shitty excuse to let crime happen.”

Yaku sighs, rubbing his forehead. “It is, I know. But you have to balance the stakes here, this is a delicate situation-”

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”

The three of them whirl around to find the Triad with wads of cash in their hands and the cashier behind them looking miserably close to tears. Yaku fumbles with the book in his hands. “Uh-”

“You’d better get out of here before you get hurt,” one of them sneers.

“Or we could just mug them too,” another suggests. “They don’t look too strong.”

“Shit,” Yaku mutters.

“Shit indeed, Yakkun,” Kuroo mutters back. “What do you suggest we do now, Mr. Rational?”

Kai sets the stuff back on the shelf, grabbing them by the backs of their shirts. “Let’s see if we can get to a better area-”

The last mobster drops the air of confusion he’s had for a while in exchange for one of realization. “Hey, guys,” he says, prodding his partners with his elbows, still staring at Kai curiously. “Aren’t these guys those pro benders? You know, the-”

Kai hurls the mobsters out the door with a piece of the floor, bits of dust flying in their wake.

“Kai!” Yaku and Kuroo turn to him with matching astonished expressions. Kuroo asks, “What was that for-”

“You don’t understand,” Kai says, marching out the doorway. “I recognized them when we were talking. A fight is unavoidable now, these guys have a thing for taking on benders they think are powerful.”

Yaku groans. “Just try not to get hurt.”

As soon as he steps out of the store, a wave of sewer water nearly hits him in the face. Yaku wrinkles his nose and redirects it toward one of the other Triad members.

“Just incapacitate them and retrieve the money!” Kuroo yells. “We’ll let the police take care of them after.”

“Not so fast,” one of the mobsters leers. He starts up a burst of flame and receives a patch of sidewalk to the head for his trouble.

“One down, two to go.” Yaku catches a pile of rubble meant for Kuroo. “This sewer water smells disgusting.”

Kuroo kicks a mobster in the chest, and Yaku douses him in sewer water. “That’s two.”

Kuroo rolls his shoulders. “Okay, now where’s the last one-”

“Yaku, watch out!” Kai yells from ten feet away. Yaku jerks his head around immediately.

He barely has time to breathe before Kuroo pushes him out of the way of the icicles aimed for his heart, lands on him so heavily all the air is knocked out of Yaku’s lungs, and stuns the culprit with a quick zap of lightning. Yaku’s head knocks against the ground.

He feels hands cupping his cheeks, shivering as they spread to other parts of his body, checking for injuries. “Yaku, are you alright? Oh shit, Kai, what if he has a concussion?”

Yaku opens his eyes to see Kuroo hovering over him anxiously, Kai standing nearby looking worried. Something lurches in his chest, and he tries to sit up immediately only to bump heads with Kuroo. “Ow.”

Kai crouches down. “Yaku, do you need medical attention?”

Yaku waves his concerns away, accepting the hand he offers and using Kuroo’s shoulder as leverage to pull himself upright. “I’m alright,” he insists, dusting off his clothes. “Just landed a little hard. Are both of you okay?”

“We’re fine,” Kai says, smiling with relief. Kuroo rubs his head, echoing the comment.

“Geez, Yakkun, can’t believe you almost got taken out by a couple of thugs,” Kuroo teases, the lightness of his tone belying the worry in his eyes.

Yaku scowls. “Aw, shut up,” he says. “At least no one got hurt.”

“Well, they got hurt.” Kuroo gestures toward the three mobsters who Kai had dragged off the street and onto the sidewalk. “Let’s hope they don’t wake up before the police come.”

Yaku can’t stop the exasperated groan ripping out of his throat. “Please don’t tell me we’re gonna have to go through that mess we did last time. I told her it was an act of self-defense.”

Kuroo snickers, ruffling his hair. “They’re gonna think we’re vigilantes at this rate.”

“Hey, guys,” Kai says, digging through the criminals’ pockets and pulling out stacks of bills. “Let’s go return the money.”

The cashier nearly cries with joy when they bring the money back in, thanking them profusely and waving off Kai’s apologies for wrecking the floor and his offers to pay for it. “It’s fine, it’s fine,” he says, bowing. “We’ll take care of it. Thank you so much for your help.”

Yaku stumbles out the shop, suddenly drained of energy. A yawn escapes from his mouth, releasing the tension from his shoulders. “Let’s leave before the police get here. I have curry on the stove, it’s probably gone cold by now.”

“I think the store owner can leave the witness report for us this time,” Kai says.

Kuroo still looks worried. Yaku wants to tell him to snap out of it. “You look dead,” he says lightly. “I can carry you home, if you want, since you’re so short.”

Yaku’s too tired to kick his legs out from under him, and settles for a glare that he hopes makes Kuroo feel the full brunt of his annoyance. “I fell, I didn’t lose a leg,” he snaps.

Still, he climbs onto Kuroo’s back anyways, smiling mercilessly when Kuroo grunts and struggles to shift his weight, and tucks his head into the crook between Kuroo’s neck and shoulder for the entire walk home.

 

* * *

 

“Yaku, did you really have to tell him Yamamoto’s little sister could whoop his ass?” Kuroo yells at him in between breaths. “You know dudebros like him are sensitive about those kinds of things.”

Yaku pauses his punches to duck under someone’s haymaker and kick him between the legs. “Akane is a damn good bender, you know!” he hollers back. “And he shouldn’t dish it out if he can’t take it!”

Going out to bars without Kai is probably a bad idea, Yaku decides, as someone throws a glass at his face.

It was supposed to be a night out on the town, just the two of them. Kai had a fitting with some metalbender engineer, Kenma went with Hinata and his angry-looking friend to an arcade, and Lev and Yamamoto were testing out Fukunaga’s new driver’s license. Inuoka and Shibayama were suffering from jet lag. Yaku had stopped by earlier to make sure they were settled in alright and drop off some of Kuroo’s disgusting sweet curry.

He had also lectured the three going driving about Satomobile safety until their ears bled, but that was irrelevant.

So it had just been him and Kuroo, and Kuroo had looked down on him from their 22 cm height difference, and Yaku had been so focused on restraining himself from elbowing him in the gut for looking down on him like that, even if it wasn’t condescending at all but he was in a mood today, that he hadn’t caught what Kuroo had said.

“What,” Yaku said blankly.

Kuroo bent down to look him directly in the eye and, okay, now Yaku was mad. “I said, do you wanna get a drink. Since you’re the only one without plans.”

Realistically, what Kuroo was saying had a closer meaning to “hey we’re the only ones left because all our friends have ditched us and we’re best friends we should hang out sometimes in places other than around the apartment or during pro bending so let’s get drunk on Ember Island ice teas”, but for some reason Yaku’s brain that was probably still messed up from the music store incident chose to interpret it as “let’s go on a date”.

So instead of responding appropriately to either of those requests, Yaku had said impassively, “If you get smashed, I’m not responsible for what happens.”

Kuroo had laughed then, a warm, mirthful laugh that spread throughout Yaku’s body and left his fingers all tingly. “Are you sure it’s me we should be worried about?”

“Have fun going to the bar by yourself,” Yaku snapped.

“Wait, no, Yakkun! I was kidding!”

So they had gone to the bar, only started to get tipsy when a drunk waterbender had told Yaku he could “take you any day, little boy”, and then someone else thought Kuroo stole her drink and tried to attack him, and things had spiraled horribly downward from there.

Yaku finds himself back-to-back with Kuroo, fending off stray punches from the all-out brawl that the fight has devolved into. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the bartender calmly wiping the counter like this is a normal occurrence. It probably is.

Thankfully, most of the attention is off of them now. Yaku tugs on Kuroo’s sleeve and leads him along the wall to the exit, stepping carefully over knocked out people on the floor. Kuroo’s more intoxicated than he is, though, and keeps tripping, so Yaku hooks an arm around the back of his knees and gathers him up in his arms.

“Lanky bastard,” he mutters when Kuroo’s legs hit the doorframe on their way out.

“What the hell, Yakkun, when’d you get so strong,” Kuroo whines, laying his head on Yaku’s shoulder. “Are we going home?”

Yaku’s head is spinning. “No, let’s,” he says, “let’s go to the harbor.”

He pushes Kuroo into the backseat of a taxi, climbs in after him, and leans his head on his shoulder, making idle conversation with the driver. Kuroo’s head bounces on his as he goes through a cycle of falling asleep and abruptly waking up.

Once they arrive at the harbor, Yaku drags Kuroo over to one of the emptier docks, and slips his shoes off to let his feet dangle in the water.

The lights of the city glimmer off the dark harbor waters and reflect in Kuroo’s eyes and numbly, Yaku thinks, _that’s really pretty._

Kuroo laughs raucously at a pair of birds fighting on another dock and the sound pulls at something in Yaku’s chest. His hands twitch with the sudden urge to hold Kuroo’s face, so he brings up a small trickle of water from the bay to poke one of the birds with. Kuroo erupts into giggles again, and Yaku can’t look away if he tries.

“Birds are so dumb,” he sighs, wiping away a tear from his eye.

Yaku smiles. “Yeah.”

 

* * *

 

Kai finds him sitting with his head hidden between his knees and his chest in a corner of the bathroom. “Hey,” he says, sitting down next to Yaku’s curled up form.

Yaku mumbles something unintelligible, shoving his head further into his chest.

“Kuroo’s okay,” Kai continues. “He’s eating your spicy curry and trying not to cry.”

Yaku still won’t let Kai see his face, but he lets out a little snort of laughter. “He’s so dumb,” Yaku mutters, and falls silent again.

Kai waits.

A few minutes later, Yaku starts in a small voice, “Sometimes, I think Kuroo should have been the waterbender and I should have been the firebender.”

“What makes you think that?” Kai asks.

“Kuroo’s so calm, and calculating, and… kind,” Yaku says, propping his chin on his knees and waving a hand. “I’m just… hotheaded.”

“I think it’s just like that,” Kai says wisely. “The universe has a sense of humor, and seems to particularly enjoy irony. You’re not the first waterbender to have a short temper, and you won’t be the last.”

Yaku makes a little, disbelieving noise in the back of his throat.

“Besides, you’re just as good as taking care of him as he is for you,” says Kai. “And I think he likes how passionate you are.”

“Hardly,” Yaku scoffs. “I freaked out and yelled at him.”

“Honestly, I was ready to yell at him too,” Kai admits. “I think we’re all just stressed about tomorrow.”

Yaku starts to unfold his body. “Yeah,” he concedes softly, “especially him. He’s had that thing going on with Bokuto for forever. I just don’t want him to get hurt.”

Kai smiles. “He’ll be okay,” he grabs Yaku’s hands and holds them gently, “so worry about yourself too, okay?”

Yaku wraps his thumbs around Kai’s fingers. “Okay,” he whispers, the beginnings of a smile appearing on his face.

Slowly, carefully, Kai pulls him upright. “Let’s go make sure he hasn’t raised the water bill too much. Your curry is spicier than you think.”

Just like Kai said, Kuroo is sitting at the kitchen island, empty water bottles lying on the counter around him, spooning curry into his mouth and looking somewhat miserable. Yaku skirts around him to the refrigerator and pulls Kuroo’s sweet curry out of the fridge. After he heats it up, he sits next to Kuroo and starts eating it.

He makes a face. “Disgusting.”

Kuroo turns to look at him, nose dripping and eyes shining with unshed tears. “It’s better than this shit,” he says through a mouthful of food.

Yaku sticks his spoon into Kuroo’s mouth. “Trade me then.”

“Okay,” Kuroo says, laughing with his mouth full, and feeds Yaku a massive spoonful of his own spicy curry.

“Stop laughing with food in your mouth, that’s gross,” Kai says, pouring a glass of water for himself.

“Want some?” they both ask at the same time, holding their bowls out toward him.

 

* * *

 

Yaku digs his nails into the flesh of his palms and thinks that he never wants to feel this helpless again.

The first two rounds of the Catgators v. Owlsharks match had gone smoothly, with both teams each taking one round. But with the way the Owlsharks are bending now, it seems like they were just warming up.

Akaashi and Konoha had teamed up on him almost immediately, sending him flying into the water below the arena. Kai and Bokuto had taken each other out, and now it’s just them and Kuroo.

Even with Bokuto out of commission, the Owlsharks are a fearsome team. Yaku wishes he could watch Kuroo’s bending in better circumstances. Yaku watches him now, desperately trying to fight his way out of the corner their opponents have forced him into and wishing he was still on the field with Kuroo. Konoha and Akaashi work fluidly with each other, and they secure two zones of territory by the time the buzzer rings.

As the crowd cheers, Kuroo’s face falls. Yaku curses and punches his palm.

They change out of their gear in silence, the noises of the audience replaying in Yaku’s ears. He spares a glance at Kuroo, who looks as serious as he’s ever seen him, face darkened.

Kai tries for a smile and fails.

On the walk home, Yaku makes idle chitchat with Kai, Kuroo walking a few steps behind them. “That was really cool, what you did with Bokuto there,” Yaku says.

“And your offense was excellent today, you nearly got Konoha a couple times,” Kai returns.

Yaku still feels horrible, though, and he doesn’t doubt Kai is feeling the same. If only they had held out longer, been stronger, struck faster, then maybe their captain could have secured the win.

He looks over his shoulder to check that Kuroo is still with them. “Hey, captain, you good?”

Kuroo looks up quickly, plastering a fast smile on his face. “I’m fine, Yakkun. Just thinking.”

Yaku rolls his eyes. “Well, don’t think too hard, you don’t have the brain cells for that.”

Kuroo mock-gasps. “I’m hurt, Yakkun.”

When Yaku turns away and looks back, though, Kuroo’s face doesn’t look any happier.

It takes him four tries before he can fit the key into the lock of their apartment door. Kai offers to help, but Kuroo insists on doing it himself.

He doesn’t even bother to put his duffle bag away, dropping it on the floor before heading into one of the rooms. Kai and Yaku exchange a look.

Yaku finds Kuroo laying stomach-down on his bed, face planted into his pillow. “Oi, Kuroo, wrong bed,” he says.

Kuroo mutters something that sounds kind of like “oops” and doesn’t move.

Yaku sighs and falls onto the bed next to him. He pokes Kuroo in the side. “Hey.”

With a groan, Kuroo rolls over to look at him. Yaku curls up next to him, murmuring, “You were great, okay?”

Kuroo shoots him a dubious look and opens his mouth to protest, but Yaku cuts in before he can say anything. “I mean it. You were great out there. It’s just that today, they got the better of us.”

“You were great, too,” says Kuroo, voice rough and scratchy. “I’ll be fine tomorrow, I’m just… tired.”

Yaku scoots closer to him, tucking his head into Kuroo’s chest. Kuroo puts his arm around him and releases a sigh, shuddering with the effort it took to hold it in. Yaku closes his eyes. “Okay.”

 

* * *

 

 

“You guys should go on a reward date,” Kai suggests.

Kuroo frowns. “It’s not a reward date if there’s nothing to reward,” he says.

“Wait, hold up,” says Yaku. “Backpedal for me. When did we get to the point where dating became a thing that we did and why did nobody think to tell me about this?’

Kuroo jerks his head suddenly to look at Yaku, and then Kai. “Yeah,” he says contemplatively. “When did that happen?”

Kai stares at them, shock written all over his face. “You mean you’re not? Dating, I mean?”

Yaku shifts his gaze from Kai to Kuroo, and back to Kai again. “No?” he says, pitching the vowel and dragging it out.

“Damn.” Kai exhales sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was so sure too. Even Lev and Yamamoto thought so.”

“You told Lev and Yamamoto?!” Yaku shrills. Kuroo chokes.

“Actually, it was Kenma,” Kai admits. “He told me to get you to do something together, said Kuroo was being too annoying.”

Kuroo presses a hand to his chest. “Betrayed by my oldest friend,” he moans.

Kai’s confusion dissolves into mild horror. “Are you saying you two don’t like each other, then?”

Yaku makes a face. “Like, like like?”

“Are you five, Yakkun?” Kuroo sniggers.

“He should have been more specific!” snaps Yaku.

Kuroo shrugs. “I mean, I like him,” he tells Kai, “and I’m pretty sure he likes me too? But we didn’t really address it or anything.”

Kai looks exceedingly disappointed in them. “Are you telling me you two _fed_ each other, _cuddled_ each other to sleep, act like a _married couple_ , and you still aren’t officially together?”

Yaku feels a flush creeping up his throat. “Well, we don’t do anything really couple-like! We haven’t kissed or anything.”

“Do you wanna kiss me, Yakkun?” Kuroo asks, trademark dumb smirk slapped on his face.

“Do you wanna kiss me?” Yaku counters.

Kai slaps a hand to his forehead. “Go on a date, already.”

Kuroo bends down to fleer at Yaku. “Well then, what are we doing for our first date, oh newly anointed boyfriend of mine?”

Yaku glowers at him. “Taking that stupid smirk of yours and shoving it up your ass.”

**

“Movie date? A good starter,” Kuroo concedes. “Although a little typical. I thought we would be past the ‘get to know you’ stage by now.”

Yaku shrugs neutrally. “I got free tickets for the newest Nuktuk movie. You’re just coming along for the ride.”

“I can’t believe I’m being cheaped out on, on the very first date,” says Kuroo, mock-offended.

“You said it yourself, we’re past that already,” Yaku says, snagging Kuroo by the hand and dragging him inside. “Let’s go, I want popcorn.”

Even with the insides of the theater nearly pitch black, save for the light flashing from the screen, Yaku can still see Kuroo’s eyes glimmering with mirth. It’s an adventure movie with heavy elements of humor, so Yaku can watch Kuroo guffaw around a mouthful of popcorn for a good amount of the movie. Kuroo’s laughs give him a warm feeling, insidious and subtle, spreading through his body in waves. It’s a good feeling.

He grabs a handful of popcorn from the bucket they’re sharing and stuffs it playfully into Kuroo’s mouth.

The next thing he knows, Kuroo’s hand is shoving popcorn into his face, they’re tossing kernels at each other which devolves into stuffing handfuls down each other’s shirts, Yaku’s laughing so hard he thinks his asthma might act up, and they’re being escorted out of the theater.

Yaku pats his face gently. “My skin feels all buttery.”

Kuroo licks a slow line up his face. “Mmm. Salty.”

Yaku screws up his face, grabbing Kuroo’s jacket and wiping his face on it. “That was so gross. Were you trying to be smooth? Because that was disgusting.”

Kuroo bursts into giggles, clutching his stomach. “I don’t know, it looked really buttery.”

“You’re horrible,” Yaku deadpans, and promptly falls apart laughing.

 

* * *

 

 

It is immensely satisfying to watch the Owlsharks get pummeled into the ground by the Crow Panthers. Yaku can’t wipe the smile off his face as one by one, they get knocked off the board like chess pieces. Kuroo’s bared teeth can hardly be called a smile; a better description would be ‘leer’.

“I thought we were friends with the Owlsharks,” Kai says, but he looks fairly smug himself.

Shimizu Kiyoko, Misaki Hana, Shirofuku Yukie. Yaku recalls their names from the tournament register. He would not want to meet them in a dark alley.

Kuroo throws up both hands to holler wildly, including the one that’s holding Yaku’s. “I’m buying all the Crow Panther merchandise after this,” he tells Yaku, still at full volume.

“Only if you buy me some, too,” Yaku yells back at him.

“Wow, I’m so glad my boyfriend likes my favorite pro bending team,” Kuroo says.

“My favorite pro bending team is us,” Kai says blankly.

“Shhh,” Yaku and Kuroo turn to hush him. “We need to support newer teams,” Yaku tells him.

Kuroo nods. “Of course, we have to console the losers as well.”

Yaku rapidly bobs his head up and down in agreement. “Of course, of course. We should buy them some Crow Panther merch too.”

“Why am I friends with you two,” Kai drawls. “I deserve Crow Panther merch for all this.”

Kuroo and Yaku send matching devilish grins toward him.

**Author's Note:**

> i love bokuto akaashi and konoha and i love their friendship w/ the nekoma third years pls don't hate me
> 
> come scream at me about kuroyaku on [tumblr](https://yaoyoroses.tumblr.com/)


End file.
